MEDIATOR BARREL

MODULUS

Wow, it sure is interesting how earth-shattering personal events can affect your ability to blog about toy guns.  I almost didn’t make it to this week’s deadline, but here I am, so let’s move on and try to stay positive.  I feel like every time I start to review a Nerf blaster that resembles a shotgun in any way, I want to reference White Wedding by Billy Idol but I don’t think I have thus far, so let’s give it a crack.  Hey, this week’s blaster, who is it you’re with?  It’s with the Modulus Mediator.  Hey, this week’s blaster, who’s your only one?  It’s uhh… oh god… No, NO!  Staying positive, Tim, POSITIVE!  Alright, maybe enough of that, let’s have a look at the blaster.

THE BLASTER ITSELF

Hey, this week’s blaster: SHOTGUN!  Ok, now that’s out of the way.  The Mediator Barrel blaster/accessory thingy was released in 2018 under the Modulus line as one of the three components that make up the Mediator XL blaster, each sold separately.  We’ve already seen the Mediator core blaster, so what’s so special about the barrel?  It’s actually a convertible blaster that can switch between a standalone shotgun kind of blaster or an underbarrel shotgun attachment to any Nerf blaster with a barrel attachment lug.  This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this concept, especially in the Modulus line, but what is interesting about the Mediator Barrel blaster is the firing mechanism.  Normally with stuff like this, it’s used either a standard plunger and trigger setup or a manually actuated plunger, but this time, it seems like the people at Nerf decided to use an older system where the pump builds air pressure inside the system and a button on the blaster releases it in a blast, firing all of the darts at once.  It was certainly an unexpected choice, but I can’t say I have any problems with it.  It seems to work just fine.  I will say I’m a little bummed they couldn’t find a way to put the firing button on the actual grip, but I suppose it’s still functional.  The shell work is completely new to the blaster and features the female end of the barrel attachment setup as well as a big grey button that allows you to pivot the pistol grip in line with the blaster, turning it into a barrel extension piece.  I’m also kind of disappointed in the aesthetics of the barrel/pistol grip.  I would have preferred something that looks more cohesive with the rest of the blaster, especially when folded flat, but as it stands, it’s just a grey tube with some minor contouring.  As a standalone blaster, the Mediator Barrel is just a mediocre, one-shot shotgun with the trigger on the side of the blaster.  As an attachment to another blaster, it’s actually pretty alright.  When paired with the Mediator, the lines and colors flow together reasonably well which helps solidify the notion that they are parts of the same blaster.  The attachment lug that connects the two isn’t the tightest fit, and so there is a little bit of wobble, but stuff like that happens, especially with the bigger, heavier barrel extension pieces, so I’m not super mad about it.  As far as range and power are concerned, neither are the best, but I don’t think that was ever expected.  It shoots reasonably hard up close, but with this blaster more than others, it feels like the shots lose power over distance quicker.  If you’re planning on using it against your younger siblings, it’s best as either a sneaky ambush shotgun blast as a standalone, or as a coup de grâce  after a volley of shots from a primary blaster.  The Mediator Barrel comes packaged with 3 Modulus Elite darts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s a nice day to start again.  It’s a nice day for a white blaster.  Well, it’s really more of an accessory with a gimmick.  That’s what I’ve taken away from this.  It’s not that great of a blaster because it’s not meant to be just a blaster, but as far as attachments go, it’s pretty cool.  What I’m getting at is that it doesn’t like to be alone, it’s meant to be with another blaster to really reach its full potential.  Sure it said some things that didn’t come out right, but it’s really trying to- wait, no, that’s something else.  Stay positive, Tim.  It’s a cool blaster.  I like it for what it is.  Happy thoughts.